76ers and Philly vs. New York

I was disappointed that the Sixers didn't get the win tonight. When you play the Lakers and hold Kobe Bryant to only nine points you have to win the game. It was encouraging to see them play the Lakers tough but that was a perfect opportunity to get a win over a quality opponent. Although they have not won against quality opponents yet, someone's comment pointed out that they only beat the Nets and Clippers when they won two straight, they are playing better. The core nucleus of young players has improved since the beginning of the season. They really need to change the culture of the team. Even as the Sixers play better it seems as if they know that their not supposed to beat teams like the Celtics or the Heat and find a way to lose at the end of the game. Its clear that they are better than the worst teams in the league and I feel that they can compete with the upper echelon in the league. They need to use this year to gain confidence. This is not the year to root for them to lose and hopefully get a good lottery pick. This is the year that we need to start winning games and have the young players get excited about their future together. This is a great time to be an athlete in Philadelphia. Mike Vick, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard were at the game tonight. I think that some big name free agents around the league are going to start to put Philadelphia on their list of cities to consider coming to next year. The fact that Cliff Lee came to Philadelphia for less money because he and his family enjoyed actually living and raising a family in Philadelphia was great for the city. I think that as the Phillies become a dynasty and we have young budding super stars on the Eagles there is an excitement in the city. I believe things like that mean more to athletes more than you might think. Vick has acknowledged that he plans on staying in Philly as well. Also, New York is slowly but surely losing its allure. We really need to get rid of Iguodala and get a big, marketable star on the Sixers. Maybe Carmelo starts to reconsider the east coast market he wants to enter and put Philly on his list. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup last year? Does anyone know the big name NBA players who will be free agents this coming year or are there any truths to Iguodala being traded this year? Please comment if you have any information and I will begin research next week.